Bulletin No. 1, 2009

32 Chinese University Bulletin No. 1, 2009 CUHK Graduates Sweep Oxford-Croucher Scholarships S in Yung-wa (top), and Choi Lai-sheung (below), postgraduate students in biology and chemistry respectively, won all two University of Oxford Croucher S cho lar ships ( UOCS ) to pur sue doctoral studies at the prestigious university in autumn 2008. They were each awarded some HK$1.2 million. Yung-wa is furthering his studies in zoology and Lai-sheung, in chemical biology. Having in love with biology since childhood, Yung-wa said, ‘Failure occurs 99% of the time and success only 1% of the time in scientific experiments. But it is often the small research findings which lead us to continue seeking the truth.’ Lai-sheung said a CUHK summer research project during her undergraduate years gave her a taste of what chemistry research was about. The project fueled her passion for scientific research. The Croucher Foundation and the University of Oxford jointly established the UOCS scheme for postgraduate students in Hong Kong to study the natural sciences, technology or medicine at the doctoral level at Oxford. The year 2008–09 is the first time the awards are offered. The UOCS scheme selects students by means of a stringent procedure. The applicants must present a detailed scientific proposal of the research they intend to pursue at Oxford. Those shortlisted will be interviewed by a panel of scientists on professional knowledge and interest in scientific exploration.